Short-term and long-term visas, application requirements, waiting times, advantages and disadvantages of stay vs. resident visas, who needs an ARC, and why do people opt for permanent residency

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Just wanted to give everybody my experience on the newest and greatest way to do a visa run...take a cruise from Keelong (Jilong)!

Forget Hong Kong, take a NT$3900 cruise that lasts only 1 night (you board 6 pm Friday and return 12 pm the next day). You get your visa stamped, have a great time on the boat, and do something other than go to boring Hong Kong...

WHAT DO YOU GET FOR NT$3900?a cruise and 2 free buffett meals...a nice time on a small big-boat.

WHAT DO YOU DO ON THE BOAT YOU ASK?Anything (but, be forewarned, just sneezing will cost you EXTRA). Everything on the boat that you want to do will cost extra. This includes drinking at their bar, watching Las Vegas style performances, singing in their KTV, playing video games in their arcade, eating at the nicer restaurants, using their workout room which includes sauna, hottubs, bikes, weights (around NT$200) and GAMBLING. Just don't do anything that's too costly, and you'll be ok. I spent a total of NT$4500 or so.

Gambling was the highlight of the trip... Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat (mini), and Slot highlight the casino. I was up NT$20000 on black jack at one point, then got greedy and lost it all.

BUT YOU ARE ONLY GONE FROM 6:00 PM to 12:00 PM THE NEXT DAY...WHAT KIND OF CRUISE IS THIS? WHERE DO YOU GO? Look at it this way. It's only NT$4000. So where do you expect to go? As long as I get my visa stamped AND I can have a reasonably good time, AND I can gamble, what more do you want?!? ;-)

AND it beats the hell out of Hong Kong.

TO SUMMARIZE, it's a cheaper and much more fun way to get off the island and get your visa stamped.

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